Darkest before Dawn
by ShadowElsa
Summary: It's always darkest before dawn... an AU Elsanna fanfic that explores romance, tragedy and an overlying struggle. Rated M for dark themes, strong language, sex references and for later chapters.


**AN: Author's note goes here, right? Anyway, this is my first ever fanfiction and I've awarded it to Elsanna ;) Is it a reward? But I hope you enjoy and of course don't forget to review. I've just moved into a new house and discovered a mouse infestation in the loft so that sucks -_- Anyway Happy Easter guys !**

* * *

_I am such a fucking idiot. _

Elsa, her chest heaving with each hurried intake and outtake of breath, clutched to the railings of the bus door and pulled herself in, using the edge of the pavement to boost her forward momentum.

_And why the fuck is this bus entrance so motherfucking high?_

Ignoring the driver of any acknowledgement, much akin to how he did the same to his passengers, Elsa strolled passed into the vehicle's interior, unaware of the fact the driver, although usually never giving a second's thought about the people who went into the bus, still had a job of charging customers and checking bus passes. In her hurry, Elsa had forgotten her college pass that allowed her entrance onto the school vehicle. Still, she walked over to a spare row of seats.

'Excuse me.'

Elsa stopped in her tracks, thoughts scrambling, her senses as wandered as a witless animal before the thick and leathery voice of the bus driver seethed into her hearing.

'Hey!'

The blonde spun around, her braid settling over her right shoulder as she met the spiteful glare of the bloke in control of the bus. _This old cunt again…_

'Oh, sorry.' Elsa stammered, feeling around the pockets of her jacket and then her trousers, and when hit with the reality they weren't in there or her rucksack, she had already felt the prickling sensation between her shoulder blades that meant nothing but the fact the entire population of students within the bus were staring at her. _Fuck._

'I seem to have forgotten my pass…' Elsa let the words flow from her mouth and wish she had just kept her mouth shut with the way her voice skittered. She stood straight to free herself of seeming even more idiotic.

'Uh-huh. Pay up then, sweetie. 'Cause I ain't got all day waiting you out.' The driver was unsympathetic and he leaned against the steering wheel as though he didn't give a fuck. _Which he doesn't. _

Elsa felt like a deer caught in headlights. She felt like utter shit and she felt like curling into a ball and dying; she wanted to be in the darkness and solitude of her room, a reclusive haven unclouded by the essence of others. But here, everyone was staring at her, and she prayed to whatever was up there to let her go in peace.

She must've been standing there for a while because someone shouted from the back of the vehicle 'Hey Ice Queen! Pay up retard!' and the majority of the students within laughed out loud. How the fuck was that funny? Why did this world have to have so many fucking idiots who had nothing better to do but make fun of others who rolled in their own self-pity? Elsa felt her insides burning up in anxiety and fury as she rolled into her thoughts.

The way the bus driver was watching her… his eyes starting to roam from her face to she dared hoped not to other areas of her body, she contemplated about the aggression he served towards her previously, much like a dog striving for dominance over another. Eyes in a penetrating stare that was followed by the averting of a gaze by the submissive individual. Elsa did not want to be this submissive individual and a flare of indignation sparked within her.

Glaring a hole through the driver's forehead, Elsa felt the hairs on her neck tingle as she let her arms untangle from their previous joining in front of her stomach and cleared her throat.

'I'll pay you tomorrow, okay? Or bring the pass, whatever the fuck you think is best.'

Fazed by her own behaviour as much as the driver was, she quickly planted herself on a seat, pulled out her headphones and placed them over her ears before sticking her gaze out the window. _So much for not averting your gaze, retard._

Some of her fellow college students leered at her, called her a fucking pyscho prick and moved their brainless minds elsewhere while some had gone back to their previous activities a while back. The rest were looking suspiciously at the entrance as a lone figure hopped inside, coolly sauntered in and showed his pass, and curled his path to sit on the row of seats directly to the right of hers. He pulled back his hood and began tampering with his phone.

She'd never seen this lean-looking male before and the way he entered and casually splayed his legs and rested them on the seat in front made her come to the conclusion he was a self-absorbed prick, and that was that.

* * *

The reason Elsa had felt like a _so much of a stupid fucking idiot that I feel like my whole family line was on a cactus which makes me and all of them pricks_ was simply because she had an upcoming test that very day and she'd crashed the whole night on her laptop testing out the games she'd pirated and found herself wrapped in Assassin's Creed for the entirety of the night. Although all she wanted was to skip the test and enter the animus or the reaches of Skyrim on her unquenched thirst of debate on whether or not to kill Paarthurnax, this was a mandatory task and it was the bane of her existence. The letters on the pages drifted over each other like liquid particles and she felt like swinging around and smashing her fist into the person's jaw behind her just to ease her own tension. But no, she wasn't going to fuck up her almost non-existent reputation here.

Concentrating all her knowledge to a satisfactory level so that the paper was finished as quickly as possible, Elsa flipped her paper over so the snivelling cunt sitting to her left couldn't copy and placed her head in her hands, exhaling deeply, her sigh relieving the burden of her tension. Fuck, she should've slept last night. Her head was groggy and her temper was on the edge of a sharp knife. Her parents thought of her as some lock-in child and out of all fairness she was.

'Psst. Hey!'

_The fuck?_

A sharp whisper behind her made Elsa spin her head around, in response to the voice. It seems the person she wanted to slam her fist into was this guy who wanted her attention. _Better hope this jackass doesn't read minds, _Elsa thought to herself. The guy was a dark-haired male who looked around her age and the uncomfortable way he was seated suggested he was taller than average. His eyes, she noticed, were his most pronounced feature and were a striking blue over his features which she would probably find handsome if she had any interest in men. His jawline was strong and his shoulders broad, yet he carried the aroma of innocence. She had seen him a few times before in the background with the guys who enjoyed multiple girlfriends and got stoned before the day had even started. _Poor little fucker, this is the kind of guy who hangs with the tough kids to avoid getting bashed._ Elsa wondered if he was here to bash _her. _

He looked nervously around him, and she caught the leanness of his muscular frame that suggested nothing other than the fact this guy took part in a controlled fitness regime and wasn't a blockhead who went straight for the heavy weights. His arms went across the height of his desk and his hands clutched at the edge while long fingers curled around to touch underneath. _Christ, he must be tall._

'Hmm?' Elsa watched him warily, as his knuckles whitened with his hand's grip.

'Did my brother say anything to you?' He whispered intently to her, his words spiked with tension and nerves.

'Your brother?'

'He spoke to you.'

_What the fuck is this dude on? _Elsa looked at him with a look of utter confusion, and Beef Jerky as she decided to internally name him went to reply but was cut short by the stare of the test supervisor. Jerky gave Elsa a pleading look and went back to his paper, but the bell to signal that the test was over shrilled around the room and the blonde jumped to her feet, grabbed her bag and hurried as quickly as possible from any source of conversation with that mysteriously fucked-up male. She slapped a hand to her face when she made it to the bus to take her home. No, _she_ was the fucked up individual. Perhaps next time she should give the guy a chance to speak. _And stop making yourself seem even more of a fucking idiot while you're at it. _She entered the vehicle and sub-consciously eyed every person who entered the vehicle, watched as a girl strolled in with her bag over her shoulder, toned abdomen exposed, her gaze lingering longer on the next person to enter who was another female, tall and a brunette, perhaps more muscularly toned than the next girl to enter. She noticed that many of the girls at this college seemed to take an interest in personal fitness.

_Or maybe you take too much detail in and look too long, pervert._

The last person in was the newcomer from that morning, the guy to enter just after her _interaction _with the bus driver. She'd lost interest as he entered, internally switching her concentration off as the shitty old vehicle shuddered to a start and headed onto the road.

'I think some of the guys are getting a bit jealous of the lack of interest your looks are giving them. Maybe share next time, yeah Ice Queen?'

_Shut the fuck up you batty little boy, _Elsa felt like saying, but held her struggles within herself. She'd only sound like a blithering douchebag, anyway.

The boy who had spoken to her was a brute akin to the considerable size of a boulder, and the thought of Beef Jerky in the exam room with his much more defined build and his finely conceived features seeped into her mind. _This guy here deserves the title of 'Beef Jerky' more, or perhaps Fucktard would be better suiting? _She gave the thundercock boy a look of disdain before looking out the window once more.

Something caught her eye.

'Aye, Ice Queen, you see, you're a bitch who needs slapping into place.'

A figure was running very, very quickly, her red hair flying wildly and the look on her face one of intent. She was lean, and she powered faster than any male or female Elsa had ever seen.

_Holy fuck, she has the athletic conditioning of a horse. Not that she looks like one, of course. _

'You gonna say jackshit, bitch?!'

Struck from her thoughts, she realised that the bulky douchebag was closer to her than she would have thought comfortable, and he was sneering at her. His arm was slinked around her shoulders.

_I won't need to when my knee is inches deep in your balls._

'I thought you only liked dick, Marshmallow.'

The stranger she had seen only this morning and this evening, the guy who was last onto the bus on both occasions, had saved her neck from the molestation of a bear. Elsa could not bring herself to say thank you, and only watched in vain as her rescuer, who she could now see as a tall redheaded male with sideburns running down his jaws, stood frivolously up against Marshmallow.

'My names Marshall, you cocky little shit.'

The redhead chuckled lightly, shook his head and gave off the pure impression he just didn't give a fuck. 'You must've been born on a highway Marshmallow.' He covered his mouth with his hand to suppress a yawn, and continued. 'That's where accidents happen.'

Elsa hummed in laughter. That was certainly a shit comeback but Marshall seemed to have forgotten about her and moved on towards the redhead. Her positive reaction towards his joke, however, seemed to enlighten the sideburned male and he grinned as Marshmallow took the hint that it was two against one. After an intense glare, Marshall heaved his bulk away and Elsa looked outside the window once more. The running girl had gone.

'Sorry about him. Me and him, we're on good terms, actually.' The male who had prised Marshmallow off of her with his words had returned to his seat across the vehicle and turned to face her.

_Because that makes fucking sense._

Elsa looked at him, unsure of how to respond. _For fucks sake, say something nice for once!_ _Maybe apologise for your behaviour in the test room. _

_Wait, what? He wasn't there…_

It was then that Elsa realised this guy had a striking resemblance to the well-built male who was seated behind her during the exam. They had similar facial features, and the same optimal physique, and were both vaguely handsome. So, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

'Do you have a brother?'

The redhead seemed startled at her comment, and scratched the back of his head, his smile becoming lopsided. 'Yeah, um…'

_Great. For fucks sake, you can't even be a decent human being for a few seconds, you didn't even thank him._

'I do, actually,' he replied. 'And he's a cunt. So… we don't talk much.'

'Oh.'

'Yeah…' He looked around, then back at her. He grinned. 'I'm Hans.'

_Not too sure why people want to strike conversation with me. I'm a prick according to mostly everyone. For fucks sake, just socialise, please, Elsa?_

'I'm Elsa. Nice to meet you…Hans.'

He grinned, went to reply, but the bus slowed to a halt and Hans announced he was dropping off here today. 'And, I'll see you later, I guess?' He had a dreamy look on his face. _Fuck, he's not flirting with me, is he?_ 'Yeah,' she replied 'I guess.'

Once Hans was gone, she sighed in relief, and laid back her head. More people streamed into the bus, and the blonde fidgeted nervously as she watched the clock signal that it wasn't just students who got on now. It seemed that it was loud drunkards who deemed the area of afternoon a suitable time to get pissed were now the new catered population of this bus.

Suddenly, the redhead Elsa had seen running before ran past her window. She looked, straining to see, the heavenly female figure bounding off up the road. _Fuck this boundary. _She just wanted to reach out.

Suddenly, Marshall grabbed her shoulders with his hands and slammed her against the window, her nose taking the majority of the force and a biting pain taking hold of her face. She gritted her teeth, straining to break free, desperate to catch another look at the girl who was now gone from sight. Her mind clouded with fury. 'Get the fuck off me, you fucking douche! Jesus fucking Christ!' She spun around and pushed him away, but he grabbed her wrist.

'Sassy little bitch,' he crooned, aware that the audience within the vehicle were not going to interfere. Welling up in complete and utter fury, Elsa wrung free her wrist and punched the brute in the nose with all her force, then stood and kneed his head into the window pale. She heard a sickening crunch. _Jesus fuck…_

She turned and ran.


End file.
